Hans Urs von Balthasar: Year of Faith (8)


Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) was a Swiss priest and a great theologian and spiritual writer. Here we print a short piece on faith.

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You must understand: he desire nearness; he would like to live in you and commingle his breath with your breathing. He would like to be with you until the end of the world. He knocks at all the souls. He makes himself small and inconspicuous so as to be able to partake of all their little transactions and concerns. He approaches quietly so as not to disturb or be recognized; he comes to be present incognito in the full hubbub of the earth’s annual fair. He seeks trust, intimacy, he is a beggar for your love. Here is where you must really stand firm so that the boundaries won’t be blurred. He is God and he must remain such. He ought not demean himself. It is a God fearing thing to remind him of what he owes to himself. When he suddenly jumps out of his ambush and grips at your heart with one of his famous handholds, and your heart goes wild with throbbing, then you must quickly cast yourself down and say with all humility: “Lord, go away from me. I am a sinful man!” That’s an obvious distance, you see. And when he looks at you sorrowfully and silently attempts to make his solitude visible to you, remain strong. Do him homage and say: “I am not worthy that you should come under my roof” (but leave the rest out!).

 

 

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